Bedstead eoe



UNITEDr STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS M. IVEBS'IER, OF NEWPORT, KENTUCKY.

BEDSTEAD FOR INVALIDS AND OTHERS.

Specification of Letters Patent'No. 6,433, dated May 8, 1849.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, FRANoIs M. IVEBSTER,

of Newport, Campbell county, Kentucky,

have invented or produced a new Improvement, called the Oscillating or Swinging Bed; and I do hereby declare that the fol lowing is a full and exact description of the construction and op-eration of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of the specification.

My invention consists of a bedstead or lounge for grown persons or a crib for children, so constructed that the part of it on which the bed rests is suspended with cords, iron rods or otherwise, and can be moved to and fro with an oscillating and an undulating motion, either from side to side, or from head to foot; thus:

Figure l, is the ground plan or top view of the bottom frame; Fig. 2 represents a side view or elevation.

B, B, B, B, in Fig. l, and L, L in Fig. 2, represent the main posts made in any of the known forms and of any altitude required.

a, o, a, a, Fig. l and I-I, Fig. 2 represent the rails which may be made to any length desired, and wide enough to receive the spring bar, D, D, Fig. l, and guides, m m also in Fig. 1.

To fasten this frame together I fit the ends of each rail to the posts, by putting one part of the thickness of the rail against the post, and letting theother part extend inside of it. The ends of each rail having one part of its thickness beveled off so that when the rails and posts are put together, the rails form a miter joint; and the principal part of each post is outside of the rails. In the angle between the post and the rail, in the outside, is put the fastening which consists of a block c, o, c, c, c, c, o, c, Fig. l, of wood or metal of such size and shape as to t the angle, which block, or blocks, is firmly fixed to the posts or to the railseither bolts, screws or otherwise-or the rails may be put into the posts in the usual way-having strong fastenings.

Near the bottom of the rails a., a, a, a, Fig. l, is a flat bar of wood D, D, the same as above which I call the spring bar; D, D, this is fastened to the two opposite rails (by either the end or the side rails) by mortises or otherwise. Upon this bar are placed the springs E, E, E, E, E, E, Fig. 1, made of strong wire or other suitable material, and over these springs and resting upon them,

and when loosed are thrown up by the,

springs two thirds or'three fourths of their width above the rails, or'either of them may be drawn down b y means of a strap, cord, lever or other thing attached to the bottom of it, and fixed underneath for that purpose while the other is left up. Each guide has a notch cut in it where they cross-one in the top and the other in the bottom, deep enough so that notwithstanding they cross at right angles, yet one may be down while the other is up. These guides are kept in their places by blocks or other means fixed either on the spring bars or the rails as shown at F, F, F, F, Fig. l, so as to hold them steady and at the same time admit of their sliding freely up and down.

I next construct the upper or swinging part of the bedstead, by having four minor posts J, J, Fig. 2, of any size or shape desired to which are fastened by any known means, a set of rails, head board, and foot board of any shape. But these minor posts J, J, Fig. 2, have no feet, that is, they extend no further down than to the bottom` of the rails to which they are attached.

The outside of this frame when put together I make from three to six inches narrower and shorter than the inside of the main parts B, B, B, B, Fig. l, and L, L, Fig. 2, so as to admit of its swinging freely between them, either endwise, or sidewise. At the outside corner and at the bottom of each of the minor posts I x a cord, strap, metallic rod, or their equivalent N, N, Fig. 2 which I bring up over the top of the main posts, and thus suspend the frame about one or two inches above the main frame so as to admit of its swinging freely. In the bottom of this swinging frame and precisely over the guides m, m, before described, I fix two pieces of wood or other material, one running lengthwise and the other running crosswise of said frame, and matched together where they cross. In each of these pieces is cut a groove running from end to end, which grooves just iit the guides aforesaid, easily; there is also a notch cut in the rails corresponding with the groove as shown at I, Fig. 2, and through which the guides traverse when the bed is in motion. object of the guides and grooves is, to hold The the swinging portion of the bedstead precisely in the tack desired; or if not desired to swing at all, then bot-h guides may be loosed, and let into the grooves which will hold it at rest. The stops or other things by which I draw these guides down, I bring out and fix at or near the bottom of the head or foot rail of the lower frame. I iX a bottom in this upper frame (swingingA 1 to secure by Letters Patent is,

frame) of slats, sacking, cords or any other known support for the bed to rest upon; but that portion of the bottom next the head I fix to raise up or lower to almost any reasonable extent. This I do by fixing a roller in the head posts J J, Fig. 2, in the space between the rail and head board. To this roller I attach two cords one near each end thereof; these cords I carry up the posts over pulleys fastened to them at any point desired, and immediately down' the inside of said posts, to the end of the rising portion of the bottom aforesaid. To raise the head of the bed I have holes bored in or near the center of the roller in which I put pins or small levers by which I turn the rollers, and

wind the cord upon it. And when I raise the bed to the height required I puta small pin in one of the holes and let it rest against the head board, or rail, which fastens the roller in its place; or the ends of the roller may ycome through the posts with a key (like that yof a watch or clock) to turn it and a notch wheel and catch to hold it.

That I claim as my invention and desire l. The setting of the posts B, in such a manner as to admit of the swinging of the suspended frame K, either lengthwise or crosswise of the bed.

2. I claim guide boards M, M, M, M, worked by straps or otherwise for giving direction to the motion of the suspended frame.

3. I claim the application of the springs to support the guide boards in their places during the operation of swinging.

FRANCIS M. WEBSTER.

Attest:

PETER J. SULLIVAN, PATRICK COLLINS. 

